October 21, 2012 1:00am EDTSeptember 9, 2012 9:34pm EDTTeams get a first look at their future on Sunday as five rookie quarterbacks make their debuts. Robert Griffin III is the star, while top pick Andrew Luck struggles. Vinnie Iyer reviews that and other big developments.

After the NFL’s long, busy offseason, Week 1 is all about much-anticipated debuts. No new-look teams, however, had more immediate success than the Washington Redskins and Atlanta Falcons, whose winning offenses exploded for 40 points.

The Colts’ Andrew Luck, drafted No. 1 overall ahead of Griffin in April, was able to throw for 309 yards, but it came with three interceptions and a lost fumble in a 41-21 loss at Chicago. The Dolphins’ Ryan Tannehill was similarly roughed up (three picks) in a 30-10 loss at Houston. Being at home didn’t help the Browns’ Brandon Weeden, who struggled mightily with his accuracy (12-for-35, 118 yards, four interceptions) in a tough 17-16 loss to Philadelphia. The Seahawks’ Russell Wilson fared only slightly better (18-for-34, 153 yards, one TD, one pick) in a 20-16 loss at Arizona.

Because of Newton’s amazing rookie season and the playoff-producing first year by the Bengals’ Andy Dalton, the bar was set high for this year’s rookies who had the added benefit of a full offseason. But Griffin, like Newton, is a special dual-threat talent in position to take advantage of a scheme and personnel tailored to his skills.

Indianapolis, Miami, Cleveland and Seattle can’t support their rookie quarterbacks the way Washington can. The speedy Garcon is an ideal go-to guy for Griffin and Mike Shahanan may have found his latest bellcow back in fellow rookie Alfred Morris. The defense provides a backbone with a strong front seven.

Griffin will go through his share of growing pains, too, but he’s in a situation to stay much further advanced than the other rookie passers this season.

Analyzing other new looks on opening day:

Matt Ryan gets the Falcons flying high out of the gate. The Falcons promised to become more of a dynamic passing team, and they didn’t disappoint in Kansas City. Ryan (23-for-31, 299 yards, three passing TDs, one rushing TD) was in the zone as Atlanta unleashed Dirk Koetter’s up-tempo attack. Second-year wide receiver Julio Jones has taken over as the offensive catalyst while the power running of Michael Turner (only 11 carries for 32 yards) has faded to the background. It’s about time the Falcons let the smart, strong-armed Ryan loose and allow him to carry Atlanta to big things.

It’s the Tim Tebow no-show for the Jets. Tebow came out lined up as New York’s tight end to start the game against Buffalo, but for all the mystery of how exactly the Jets would use him and how much an impact he might have, the stat sheet showed just five carries for 11 yards. Tebow’s presence was most valuable as motivation for Mark Sanchez to have a much-needed great game to keep the Jets from wanting more plays out of Tebow. Sanchez rebounded from an ugly early interception to throttle the Bills’ new 4-3 defense (19-for-27, 266 yards, three TDs) in a 48-28 rout. For at least one week, we can now cool it on the Jets’ quarterback non-controversy.

The Saints lost their place without Sean Payton. So Payton misses the first game in his seasonlong suspension, and the Saints promptly drop a home game—something they didn’t do in all of ’11, including the playoffs. Aaron Kromer and the rest of the interim staff held together the game plan sans Payton and Joe Vitt, but there’s no doubt the savvy Shanahan had the better one. Payton’s trademarks are his aggressiveness and offensive acumen, which is rooted in his ability to work so well with quarterback Drew Brees. The Redskins were more of the attacking team, and Brees was a little out of sorts while lacking the usual mind-meld with Payton. The good news, even with the RGIII buzzsaw, is the Saints still fought hard until the end and the loss should only make them work harder to get back on track. The main concern will be getting their defenders to jell in the first year of Steve Spagnuolo’s scheme.

The Buccaneers and Rams are no longer “kinder, gentler” teams. Tampa Bay’s Greg Schiano and St. Louis’ Jeff Fisher were charged with similar tasks in taking over poor teams. They had to install defenses to make the Bucs and Rams more competitive while instilling discipline and toughness. So far, it looks good on both fronts.

Schiano was a much-criticized hire from the college ranks, but the Bucs’ gritty 16-10 win over Newton’s Panthers put all their improvements on display. Backed by hard-hitting first-round pick Mark Barron at safety, last year’s league-worst run defense gave up just 10 yards rushing to Carolina, including just 4 on Newton’s five attempts. Offensively, first-round running back Doug Martin banged out 118 yards from scrimmage on 28 touches, with help from new mauling guard Carl Nicks. Two more veteran newcomers, Vincent Jackson and Dallas Clark, bailed out Josh Freeman with timely big catches.

As for the Rams, they couldn’t seal the deal in Detroit, falling 27-23 after taking a 23-20 lead with 1:55 left. But Fisher’s defense, backed by new playmaking corners Cortland Finnegan (31-yard interception return for a TD) and Janoris Jenkins (one interception) hung tough against Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson and the Lions’ passing game. Neither Tampa nor St. Louis is a pushover anymore.

Bears fire back with reloaded offense. Chicago probably would have been a playoff team last season if quarterback Jay Cutler and running back Matt Forte had stayed healthy. Both players reaped immediate rewards from the players the Bears brought in to help them in ’12—wide receivers Brandon Marshall (nine catches for 119 yards, one TD) and Alshon Jeffery (three catches, 80 yards, one TD) and running back Michael Bush (12 carries, 42 yards, two TDs). The Bears have a deeper, more diversified offense without Mike Martz, and that should continue to help them overcome their obvious issues up front.

Extra points

— The Texans’ Arian Foster and the Vikings’ Adrian Peterson came into Week 1 with knee issues that put their game-day status in doubt. They both quickly erased any doubt about that and showed again why they have been two of the league’s toughest and most dynamic running backs in recent years. Foster grinded for 79 yards (on 26 carries) and two TDs in Houston’s win over Miami. Peterson, coming off reconstructive surgery, provided some of his old burst with 17 carries for 84 yards while working overtime in Minnesota’s win over Jacksonville. Honorable mention goes to the Jaguars’ Maurice Jones-Drew, who shook off an offseason-long holdout to still produce 77 yards on 19 carries. That’s the character of players who win rushing titles.

— Even though Blaine Gabbert lost in a matchup with fellow second-year QB Christian Ponder, he was the better of the two with a career-best performance (23-for-39, 260 yards, two TDs). Considering Titans second-year QB Jake Locker is banged up (left shoulder injury vs. New England), Gabbert suddenly is in position to catch up to Newton and Dalton more quickly than the other two Class of ’11 QBs.

— The Patriots contained both Locker (23-for-32, 229 yards, one TD, two turnovers) and Titans running back Chris Johnson (11 carries for 4 yards), showing their much-maligned defense from their ’11 AFC title run is much improved with first-round picks Chandler Jones and Dont’a Hightower. On one second-quarter play, Jones sacked Locker and forced a fumble, which Hightower promptly scooped up to score his first NFL TD. The other very nice development for New England was the breakout game for second-year feature back Stevan Ridley (21 carries, 125 yards, one TD).

Injury report

Dwight Freeney, OLB, Colts (left ankle). Indianapolis is breaking in a new 3-4, and it would be challenging for the team to maintain a consistent edge pass rush without the stalwart Freeney lining up opposite Robert Mathis. The injury is a break next week for Christian Ponder and the Vikings, who have some pass protection issues.

Darrelle Revis, CB, Jets (head). The Jets hope Revis didn't suffer a concussion against Buffalo because they will need his shutdown coverage skills against speedy Mike Wallace and the Steelers in Week 2.

Fred Jackson, RB, Bills (knee). Buffalo's offense is hoping both Jackson and wide receiver David Nelson (knee) won't be gone long term, because quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick needs all the help he can get. At least the Bills can take solace in the play of C.J. Spiller, who keeps proving he can be a big playmaker.

Jake Locker, QB, Titans (left, non-throwing, shoulder). Matt Hasselbeck needed to relieve Locker against the Patriots, but there was no reason to risk the 2011 first-rounder in a lopsided loss. Locker should be back in the lineup to face the Chargers.

Charles Tillman, CB, Bears (lower leg). It may be difficult for Tillman, Chicago's biggest and best cover man, to get ready to play the Packers' high-flying passing game in Week 2, given it's a Thursday night kickoff.

Brent Grimes, CB, Falcons (calf). If Grimes can't go against Peyton Manning and the Broncos in Week 2, Atlanta will feel fortunate they have Dunta Robinson, the former starter opposite him, at the ready.

Pierre Garcon, WR, Redskins (foot). Robert Griffin's go-to guy hauled in an 88-yard touchdown before getting hurt, and Washington is expected to have him back in the lineup in a challenging matchup with the Rams' new-look secondary in Week 2.

Rodger Saffold, OT, Rams (neck). Saffold played well protecting Sam Bradford's blind side against the Lions. But after getting a scare when their left tackle went down, the Rams likely will need to play one game without him against a good Washington pass rush.

Replacement refs perform well

Anybody really notice the replacment officials? Other than a timeout snafu in Arizona and a few procedural issues here and there, the many calls made by the makeshift crews didn't affect the outcome of any games.

That's not to say the NFL should keep getting away with not paying the regular officials. Even though the league is pleased about the performance of the replacements for now, it doesn't mean there won't be a potential backlash later. Even their most experienced refs have made big mistakes, but if a replacement does it in a big game, it will be magnified.